The Vietnam War, which started in 1945, was a fight between the communist North Vietnam and the democratic South Vietnam. During this time, the US was facing the Red Scare, and anti-communist sentiment was widespread in American culture. In 1965, the US got involved with the war in Vietnam. Three years later, US citizens began to question the necessity of their involvement in the war. According to the U.S. Office of History, a group of historians hired by the state to record national history, “The Tet Offensive played an important role in weakening U.S. public support for the war.” The Tet Offensive was an attack launched by North Vietnam during the Tet holiday, which was historically a day of peace. The maneuver was launched in an attempt to demoralize the US military and slow down the guerilla attacks performed by the South. While this strategy ultimately failed for North Vietnam, it changed the mood of the war. Even though the South and the US were able to reclaim the lost territory, it was made clear to many in the US that the war was not close to being over. More violence, more protest, and more distrust happened before 1973 when the Paris Peace Accords ended the US military’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The involvement in the war left the US in a politically divisive state. A letter from Edward M. Kennedy—a former US Senator—said, “The nation can turn its attention to reconciliation and healing the wounds and bitterness created by this long and costly conflict.” Americans saw how many supplies and people were taken in this conflict and tensions began to rise.

At a time of division and distrust caused by the Vietnam War and the Energy crisis, American morale was at a low. This all spiraled out of control due to the Watergate scandal. Nixon was rerunning for president and the political climate was rough. It would become clear to Nixon campaigners that an aggressive tactic would be necessary to win. Their tactics grew so aggressive that they broke into the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate headquarters. The team stole copies of confidential documents and bugged office phones. Later, it was revealed that the wiretaps failed, so five burglars went back to fix the mistake. A security guard had noticed the door locks had been taped over which led to the burglars getting caught and arrested. After being alerted that one of the people arrested was a security guard for the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was aware that this was not a normal robbery. According to the FBI, “the FBI immediately found itself involved in the most politically sensitive investigation in its history.” Nixon ended up getting reelected president after making a speech that claimed he and his staff had no involvement in the Watergate robbery; however, it was soon discovered that he had lied to the nation. Thousands of dollars were deposited into the burglars' bank accounts, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began impeding the FBI’s investigation of the event. The Watergate scandal was more than just a robbery. It was, according to the History Channel, “an abuse of presidential power and a deliberate obstruction of justice.” Nixon’s cover-up was not good enough to prevent conspiracists from believing something more serious occurred. A group of people began their investigation of the robbery. Eventually, an anonymous whistleblower known as “Deep Throat” came forward with the details of the scandal. He let the group know that Nixon had recordings of private conversations done in the Oval Office. If they could get the recordings, then they could have provable evidence of Nixon’s involvement with the Watergate robbery. Nixon was able to guard the tapes during the summer and fall of 1973, but his plans would begin crumbling after The Saturday Night Massacre.